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Street Dogs In Dominican Republic
When I first started coming to the DR (North Shore, Santiago, Santa Domingo) there were many dogs roaming the beaches and streets. Although not witnessing it first hand, there were many stories of dogs attacking new mothers and eating the pups. Six years later, after many spay/neuter programs throughout the country, supported through the efforts of all those that participated in the programs, it is unusual to see a "stray" dog on the streets and beaches I frequent.
I'd be interested to hear of other's experience and perspectives on the success of the spay/neuter programs.
I'd be interested to hear of other's experience and perspectives on the success of the spay/neuter programs.
Every once in a while we need a reminder of who the most rabid posters are. I brought a street puppy back from the DR 17 years ago and he blessed my life for 14 years. As for poisoning dogs, if that's legal, I will advise every Canadian and American I know to avoid the DR.
My first encounter with beach dogs was while camping at la ensenada, back when it was a nice quiet beach, like 10 years ago.
In the middle of the night I hear growling and screeching, etc......
I was in hamock with the wifey, while the rest of the in-laws were in a tent on the ground.
I half got out-half fell out - of the hamock, managing not to shoot my balls off in the process ( quite a feat as it was probably the 4th time ever i was carrying a gun ------ I, thankfuly, come from a place where we dont go around shooting each other
So I grab the next best thing- a flaming branch from the fire- and head off to invistigate.
Against the protests of in-laws, whom, like any respectable dominican, still believe that " if u cant see it, it cant see u ".........
Now, ladies and gentlemen, only in hollywood films does a flaming branch works as well as a 450 lumen flashlight. In real life it doesnt help you see sh.it.
I kind of see a haze of a human like shadow trying to climb up a tree and a pack of a dozen mangy dogs pulling him back down......
Holy balony !!!!
By this time my better half has found the flashlight, and a machete ( which, as an afterthought is much more useful than a gun and a flaming branch---- too many video games dispatches one from real life situations ) and we discover it is actually a donkey getting mauled by the dogs !!!!!!
The dogs were carving steaks out of him !!!
We shout and holler and the dogs scatter........ the donkey wasnt able to flee or defend himself effectivly, because he was tied up to said tree
P.S. It didnt make me want to kill all beach dogs......just saying
There are many who post here that are more concerned with cats and dogs than children without food in the DR. For me dogs and cars are not close seconds.
I have owned dogs (and when having my kids a cat) I never mistreated them in any way and took care of them even walking my Mastiff even when dead tired because she needed it but it makes me sick when people put animals on the same level as humanes.
TL;DR
Hubris is certainly one of Homo sapien's most pronounced evolutionary flaws. We elect to see ourselves and place ourselves above all other animals with complete disregard for the simple fact that we too are just another species of animal inhabiting this planet governed by the same rules of nature as the others. We choose to think this way solely because we can and when it comes to our own objectives, can easily suppress our empathy and logic to be supplanted by our own selfishness and false sense of self importance and grandeur.
There is so much that we do not know about many of the other animals that share this planet that we cannot say with any degree of certainty that we are the only species to have developed language. Clearly we are not the only species that chooses to develop and live in a society, other species care for and nurture their young for extended periods of time, live in a place that they return to day after day, use tools and yes communicate in some manner with each other.
Most of the animals species that we humans haven't driven to extinction already, don't kill other animals for sport or wage war. Of course there are always some examples of behavior that we humans seem to have embraced - ant colonies habitually go out and slaughter neighboring colonies and the fox seems unable to kill just one chicken in a coop at a time, but overall the other animals seem much better suited to harmonious living and development on this rock than humans do.
If we could figure out how to talk to the higher order animals, such as dolphins, whales and other apes, I'm sure they we have a thing or two to say about how humans always seem to put our own needs and desires ahead of what we know is not in the best interest of any other animal, as if god said doing that is ok in the 11 commandments - despite directing Noah to save them all.
Dogs and cats may not be the most intelligent creatures on the planet but we invite them into our homes to work for us, play with us and give us comfort and a sense of contentment and well being. We humans took them out of their natural environment and domesticated them, in many ways making them forever dependent on people. We work feverishly to slaughter all the other canine species except for a few individuals here and there so we can pat ourselves on the back claiming to be compassionate about the flora and fauna when we all know that is just not true.
All animals feel pain, many display evidence of having moods, all animals have needs and deserve to be free from human encroachment in their lives. Of course the wolf will kill a cow. We humans have taken away almost all of the other choices such as deer, buffalo, elk that these wolves would prefer to eat as far away from humans as possible. We force them to come in contact with us because we constantly reduce their available habitat and food options and then blame the animal when it just tries to survive.
I have cared for many dogs in my life and there has not been a single dog that I didn't value more than some worthless POS human that I knew at the time. No dog has treated me with malice of forethought. I have lost a marinating brisket and a few dozen cooling cookies over the years but I recognize that a dog is a dog and sometimes exposure to temptation is not perceived by them as I would prefer. I have to accept my part in those outcomes.
I take exception with the supposition that all humans are gifted with an intrinsic value in excess of another animal by default.
I can't completely fault the locals in this country for not appreciating the extent of one's responsibility towards other members of the same natural kingdom, as their degree of education and natural understanding lags behind more scientifically advanced cultures. I do however, expect better from those who have the opportunity to be privileged with more education and a resulting appreciation of the natural world.
In a house fire, I will move a mountain to save a loved one, but I will not ignore the dog just because it's a dog and is somehow erroneously deemed undeserving of an equal degree of consideration. After all, it is my ancestors and me that put this animal in the situation of being in a house fire in the first place.
We cannot assign blame to the locals for their apparent callous treatment of these same animals then turn around and expect our own hypocrisy to be overlooked. Mistreatment of many animals goes well beyond just physical neglect. We choose to demean and neglect members of our own species so it comes as no surprise that anyone other than me, myself and I is often further down our mental importance list when it comes to deciding any particular course of action. Who cares if the underwater nuclear tests blow out the eardrums of whales thousands of miles away? We need to test, the whales be damned.
The degree to which one embraces the needs of others (human and animal alike) is a window into their soul and an excellent benchmark to use when assessing the base essence of that person. I believe an attack on my dog is an attack on my family and it is my obligation to respond in such a way as to immediately and permanently curtail that threat. Surely if the Castle Doctrine allows one to protect property with deadly force then the same extends to a living sentient animal that shares one's home. The dog is not more important than a person. In my eyes, I have extended my protection when I assumed sole responsibility for that animal. I don't kiss the dog goodnight like I do my wife, but every night at bedtime, he is petted and thanked for another day of loyal and faithful companionship. It appears to me that I am forgiven any slight I may have inadvertently caused him that day as a flawed human who might have pursued a singular objective without regard to the impact on others who are equally entitled to my love, compassion, sense of fairness and consideration that would be wrong to withhold or gloss over.
The mistreatment of animals and failing to take into consideration their needs is not a DR problem. It is a human problem and evidence of horrible cruelty and neglect abounds everywhere. The sentiment that a dog/animal is less worthy of equal consideration is the basis for allowing one to believe that it is ok to demean others and I suspect this sentiment is in most cases not limited to just animals. Those who take comfort in assigning a value to life are those who use such as a crutch to absolve themselves from failing to live up to the standard of the "superior intelligent being" they claim to be.
I am not suggesting that a dog or other family pet is a person or should be equated to being a human. This distinction, however, is not sufficient to justify lessening the needs or the intrinsic value of life just because that would be more convenient. Life should never be seen by the courts and other humans, as just property. If you wish to take a sledgehammer to your car, I have no issue with that. However, you do not have the right to take a sledgehammer to your dog (just because it is a less intelligent animal) just as you do not have the right to do so with your wife or your children or pretty much any other human.
Humans really aren't all that special despite claiming to be otherwise and often do not act in a manner consistent with this claim. There are unwanted animals in the street because people have put them there. With no place for the domesticated dog or cat to call home, they like any other animal occupy their day just trying to survive. We cannot fault them for that because that is exactly what humans do in similar circumstances. It is sanctimonious to belittle the value of life when we entered into a moral contract to care for these domestic animals for all eternity by deliberately altered their living reality, appearance and ability to exist apart from negative human influences.
Once again, humans and their attitudes are the problem and these will be our eventual downfall if we are unable to change and live in harmony with ourselves, the other creatures and the planet as a whole. To think otherwise is nothing more than expedient delusion. Determining an absolute value and assigning that to another sentient living creature is pompously inexcusable and not something we have the moral right to do.
Hubris is certainly one of Homo sapien's most pronounced evolutionary flaws. We elect to see ourselves and place ourselves above all other animals with complete disregard for the simple fact that we too are just another species of animal inhabiting this planet governed by the same rules of nature as the others. We choose to think this way solely because we can and when it comes to our own objectives, can easily suppress our empathy and logic to be supplanted by our own selfishness and false sense of self importance and grandeur.
There is so much that we do not know about many of the other animals that share this planet that we cannot say with any degree of certainty that we are the only species to have developed language. Clearly we are not the only species that chooses to develop and live in a society, other species care for and nurture their young for extended periods of time, live in a place that they return to day after day, use tools and yes communicate in some manner with each other.
Most of the animals species that we humans haven't driven to extinction already, don't kill other animals for sport or wage war. Of course there are always some examples of behavior that we humans seem to have embraced - ant colonies habitually go out and slaughter neighboring colonies and the fox seems unable to kill just one chicken in a coop at a time, but overall the other animals seem much better suited to harmonious living and development on this rock than humans do.
If we could figure out how to talk to the higher order animals, such as dolphins, whales and other apes, I'm sure they we have a thing or two to say about how humans always seem to put our own needs and desires ahead of what we know is not in the best interest of any other animal, as if god said doing that is ok in the 11 commandments - despite directing Noah to save them all.
Dogs and cats may not be the most intelligent creatures on the planet but we invite them into our homes to work for us, play with us and give us comfort and a sense of contentment and well being. We humans took them out of their natural environment and domesticated them, in many ways making them forever dependent on people. We work feverishly to slaughter all the other canine species except for a few individuals here and there so we can pat ourselves on the back claiming to be compassionate about the flora and fauna when we all know that is just not true.
All animals feel pain, many display evidence of having moods, all animals have needs and deserve to be free from human encroachment in their lives. Of course the wolf will kill a cow. We humans have taken away almost all of the other choices such as deer, buffalo, elk that these wolves would prefer to eat as far away from humans as possible. We force them to come in contact with us because we constantly reduce their available habitat and food options and then blame the animal when it just tries to survive.
I have cared for many dogs in my life and there has not been a single dog that I didn't value more than some worthless POS human that I knew at the time. No dog has treated me with malice of forethought. I have lost a marinating brisket and a few dozen cooling cookies over the years but I recognize that a dog is a dog and sometimes exposure to temptation is not perceived by them as I would prefer. I have to accept my part in those outcomes.
I take exception with the supposition that all humans are gifted with an intrinsic value in excess of another animal by default.
I can't completely fault the locals in this country for not appreciating the extent of one's responsibility towards other members of the same natural kingdom, as their degree of education and natural understanding lags behind more scientifically advanced cultures. I do however, expect better from those who have the opportunity to be privileged with more education and a resulting appreciation of the natural world.
In a house fire, I will move a mountain to save a loved one, but I will not ignore the dog just because it's a dog and is somehow erroneously deemed undeserving of an equal degree of consideration. After all, it is my ancestors and me that put this animal in the situation of being in a house fire in the first place.
We cannot assign blame to the locals for their apparent callous treatment of these same animals then turn around and expect our own hypocrisy to be overlooked. Mistreatment of many animals goes well beyond just physical neglect. We choose to demean and neglect members of our own species so it comes as no surprise that anyone other than me, myself and I is often further down our mental importance list when it comes to deciding any particular course of action. Who cares if the underwater nuclear tests blow out the eardrums of whales thousands of miles away? We need to test, the whales be damned.
The degree to which one embraces the needs of others (human and animal alike) is a window into their soul and an excellent benchmark to use when assessing the base essence of that person. I believe an attack on my dog is an attack on my family and it is my obligation to respond in such a way as to immediately and permanently curtail that threat. Surely if the Castle Doctrine allows one to protect property with deadly force then the same extends to a living sentient animal that shares one's home. The dog is not more important than a person. In my eyes, I have extended my protection when I assumed sole responsibility for that animal. I don't kiss the dog goodnight like I do my wife, but every night at bedtime, he is petted and thanked for another day of loyal and faithful companionship. It appears to me that I am forgiven any slight I may have inadvertently caused him that day as a flawed human who might have pursued a singular objective without regard to the impact on others who are equally entitled to my love, compassion, sense of fairness and consideration that would be wrong to withhold or gloss over.
The mistreatment of animals and failing to take into consideration their needs is not a DR problem. It is a human problem and evidence of horrible cruelty and neglect abounds everywhere. The sentiment that a dog/animal is less worthy of equal consideration is the basis for allowing one to believe that it is ok to demean others and I suspect this sentiment is in most cases not limited to just animals. Those who take comfort in assigning a value to life are those who use such as a crutch to absolve themselves from failing to live up to the standard of the "superior intelligent being" they claim to be.
I am not suggesting that a dog or other family pet is a person or should be equated to being a human. This distinction, however, is not sufficient to justify lessening the needs or the intrinsic value of life just because that would be more convenient. Life should never be seen by the courts and other humans, as just property. If you wish to take a sledgehammer to your car, I have no issue with that. However, you do not have the right to take a sledgehammer to your dog (just because it is a less intelligent animal) just as you do not have the right to do so with your wife or your children or pretty much any other human.
Humans really aren't all that special despite claiming to be otherwise and often do not act in a manner consistent with this claim. There are unwanted animals in the street because people have put them there. With no place for the domesticated dog or cat to call home, they like any other animal occupy their day just trying to survive. We cannot fault them for that because that is exactly what humans do in similar circumstances. It is sanctimonious to belittle the value of life when we entered into a moral contract to care for these domestic animals for all eternity by deliberately altered their living reality, appearance and ability to exist apart from negative human influences.
Once again, humans and their attitudes are the problem and these will be our eventual downfall if we are unable to change and live in harmony with ourselves, the other creatures and the planet as a whole. To think otherwise is nothing more than expedient delusion. Determining an absolute value and assigning that to another sentient living creature is pompously inexcusable and not something we have the moral right to do.
No, I do not believe so, but just as with some of the most memorable moments on the floor of the UN, it takes a lot of ardour to be able to get one's message across to the global community, or for that matter, any community. I commend Cdn_Gringo on his thought process, and his ability to share the written word.
I know vets who have participated in volunteer spay/neuter programs for street dogs in the La Entrada & environs specifically.
The difference has been stunning in three years.
If you see a dog with an ear tag it was part of the program.
The difference has been stunning in three years.
If you see a dog with an ear tag it was part of the program.